FSE

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This story is a direct sequel, but it can be read independently without reading the first story. It's mostly sex, but it starts off with a healthy dose of world and character building before things get heated. (14,936 words) Rating: Explicit, M/F, M/M/F

Apollo sat down on his haunches and glanced up at the drake beside him. "Nitidus? Could I ask you something?"

Nitidus said nothing in response. Unlike Apollo, who was a racing dragon, Nitidus was a freighter bred to carry cargo and passengers. Apollo was thin, lean, and built for speed and agility, whereas Nitidus was large, burly, and built for heavy lift capacity and long endurance flight. He was half again larger than Apollo and could carry up to six people (which was six times more than Apollo could) for up to eight hours of nonstop flying before even needing to stop for water or food.

Nitidus wasn't much of a conversationalist, but Apollo pressed on regardless. "I was just wondering if you've heard anything from Jay about his discussion with Ian...?"

Nitidus still said nothing. He was doing an excellent impersonation of a dragon-shaped statue. Apollo tried to prompt him further. "Apparently Ian was proposing that our ranch would fly interstate routes as a contractor for his delivery company--have you heard Jay say anything about that? Do you even know who Ian Caedry is? Can you hear me? Hello?"

Finally Nitidus replied. "Jay talk ranch is secret--trade secret. Not tell you," he replied, his voice rumbly and deeply resonant.

"I agree that it would be inappropriate to discuss ranch operations with a trade competitor or a rival company, but surely you could trust me. Jay owns me too, you know," Apollo said.

"No."

"What?"

"Nrrm..." Nitidus let out a soft rumbling hum that Apollo suspected was either expressing disagreement or amusement; possibly both. "Jenn-fer own you, not Jay. Jay own ranch and all freighters, but not you."

Apollo cocked his head to the side. "You do know that Jennifer is Jay's daughter, yes?"

"Yes. Jenn-fer is hatchling of Jay. She good human."

"Technically she's his child, not hatchling. Hatchling implies a hatch, but humans don't lay eggs. They just sort of lay tiny version of themselves." Apollo shook his head and tried to refocus the conversation. "Anyway, Jennifer was part of the conversation with Ian and Jay, so I don't see why you can't just tell me if you've heard something from Jay."

Although Nitidus had spent most of his life flying cargo deliveries around the state, nowadays he often served as Jay's personal transport whenever the head rancher needed to be somewhere other than his dragon ranch. Although Nitidus was much larger than Apollo, he was still a small dragon as far as freighters went, and he was compact enough that he could make landings in relatively confined areas such as within a narrow city street.

In this regard, Apollo performed a similar function for Jennifer, Jay's adult daughter. Although technically Apollo was a racing dragon whose egg had been a birthday gift to Jennifer, he served as her personal steed whenever she left the ranch. This had previously meant flying her to and from college where she had attended business school, but nowadays Jennifer was increasingly helping her father take part in meetings or checking up on their various stable depots located across the state.

Nitidus half unfurled his wings and flicked them. Apollo (since he had been raised from the egg by a human) wasn't very good an interpreting the body language of other dragons, but he had come to realize this wing-flick gesture was the dragon equivalent of a shrug. "Fine. Ian says is good idea. They still want to talk detail. So we stay here a few more days," Nitidus finally revealed.

Apollo nodded his head at the information. This matched what Jennifer had said to him--that talks were still ongoing. A few days ago, carrying their respective humans, he and Nitidus had flown on a short trip to the neighbouring state so that Apollo could take part in the regional dragon racing championship. To the surprise of everyone including himself, Apollo had taken first place for the race.

After the race Jay and Jennifer had met up with Ian Caedry, an aviation tycoon who ran a massive consortium of transportation, logistics, and delivery services that relied on dragons serving as flying couriers. Ian had been watching the aerial race because he also owned several racing dragons as a hobby, one of whom had been competing against Apollo.

At the present time, Apollo and Nitidus were sitting outside a shopping mall as Jay and Jennifer shopped inside. This shopping mall didn't allow dragons, so they had been forced to wait outside like dogs or some other uncivilized animals. Nitidus hadn't objected to this treatment (since as a freighter he wouldn't have fit into any building that wasn't purposely designed with dragons in mind), but Apollo had been mildly offended by this discrimination. He wasn't that much larger than a human, and he was quite sure that he could have easily fit inside the mall's large corridors and shopping alleys.

"Do you think it's a good idea? Our ranch flying interstate routes, I mean. I've always thought that it was the bigger dragon breeds which did interstate or international deliveries--blue longwings, oriental imperials, that sort of larger dragon," Apollo suggested, trying to probe the freighter dragon for more information.

"I tell you...is good idea. Bigger dragon mean more cargo, but also more food, so not better. No reason why smaller freighter cannot fly further. Is only humans who think that big dragon is better for fly far. Silly humans--think they know flying better than us," Nitidus replied.

Apollo took a few seconds to decipher Nitidus's grammatically incorrect speech, then he nodded in understanding. "Well it's not every human who thinks that way. Ian clearly understands that dragons like you could be efficient in flying interstate routes; otherwise he wouldn't be looking to make a deal with Jay. So you do think it's a good idea, then."

Nitidus said nothing else in reply, and the conversation drifted to a halt again. Apollo found himself getting bored again and he was tempted to take off and fly loops around the shopping mall when suddenly he spotted Jennifer walking out from the nearby entrance. "Jennifer!" he chirped, excitedly leaping to his feet at the sight of his owner and favourite human.

Jennifer grinned and gave the blue-scaled drake a quick pat on the nose as she came over. "Hey there pal! Sorry to keep you waiting, but it looks like we're not going anywhere soon. Ian tracked us down in the mall and he wants to finalize our business deal, so now it looks like him and dad are going to spend the next few hours ironing out the fine details at a café. You can head back to the hotel first; we'll all fly back on Nitidus when we're done."

Apollo nuzzled affectionately at his human. "I don't mind waiting so I can fly you back when Jay and Ian are done with their meeting," he offered, but Jennifer shook her head.

"No, don't wait for us. I think they're going to keep talking all the way until dinner. You know how it is once dad starts talking--he just won't stop! Ian appears to have an equal capacity for verbosity. I suspect it's what happens when you become too good a businessman--people don't dare to interrupt you anymore. Or maybe that's just men loving the sound of their own voices. Heh." Jennifer chuckled and patted Apollo's nose. "Rafale's somewhere around the building too," she added.

Apollo perked up again at the mention of Rafale--Ian's former racing dragon, with whom he had become friends with after winning the race two days ago. "Rafale's here?"

Jennifer nodded and smiled at her dragon's enthusiasm. "Yep. She flew Ian over, but he's also got another dragon who carries his bodyguards and personal assistants, so she doesn't need to stay here and wait for him. If you can find her, you two can go explore the city or just head back to the hotel and take a swim or have another go at...um...trying to...uh...you know..."

"Sex?" asked Apollo. This was what he and Rafale had done yesterday, and it had been great fun. Rafale was retiring after she had suffered a bad crash in last year's race, so now she was going to have an egg (with his help).

Jennifer's face went red; Apollo found blushing to be a particularly curious human expression because as far as he could tell it was completely involuntary, but only happened when you were embarrassed, which seemed counterproductive. "Yes, that! It's not guaranteed that mating just once will work to...uh...create an egg. Not that I'm an expert in that sort of thing! Although I work in a dragon ranch, so I am actually an expert in that sort of thing, when that thing is dragon husbandry. I meant I'm not personally an expert in sex and getting pregnant. Although I'm also not a virgin, and there was one time where I had to deal with a broken condom--" Jennifer cut herself off and patted Apollo on the nose again. "Not that you need to know about that. Anyway, you just go find Rafale and take her out on a date. Go watch a movie or visit a museum or practice your flying or whatever you want to do. Have fun!"

Apollo nodded. "Or we could have sex. What Rafale and I did yesterday was very fun. Hey, how come you never told me about sex? It's such a weird thing to do, but it feel so very nice when I put my--"

Jennifer used her hand to hurriedly clamp Apollo's muzzle shut. "Okay, that's enough. Don't tell me all the details! Or at least, don't tell me all the details in public." She glanced over towards Nitidus, who had laid down on all fours and closed his eyes. The freighter appeared to be asleep, but who could really tell? "I'll see you later after dinner, alright? Fly safe."

Apollo nuzzled Jennifer one last time. "Alright. Walk safe."

Jennifer headed back inside the shopping mall, while Apollo glanced around and unfurled his wings to take flight. He was just about to leap into the air and start searching for Rafale when he spotted the green-scaled dragoness walking towards him from just around the corner of the building. "Oh, there she is!" he said, tapping his paws against the ground excitedly.

Lying beside him, Nitidus snapped one eye open and glanced to Rafale. "Green twig," he muttered, referring to Rafale's malachite coloured scales.

Apollo frowned at the larger drake and prodded Nitidus's side in annoyance; although what with the weight difference, he could probably have tried throwing his entire body at Nitidus and the larger dragon wouldn't even have shifted at all. "Hey! She's slender and elegant--don't call her twig. Rafale could fly circles around you or any other freighter."

"So what? No use flying circles. Two humans on her back and she can't even fly. Useless! Bright colours and pretty wings, but useless. Good for flying through rings very fast. Not good for being useful," retorted the freighter dragon. "Just like you! Blue twig..."

"Rude!" exclaimed Apollo, but he wasn't really offended. As far as insults went, Nitidus was very civilized and factual compared to most of the other freighters on the ranch, who usually refused to speak with him completely. It was true that Apollo was a breed of dragon that had been raised for speed and being flashy, not for being able to carry heavy weights for long distances. Even from the name of their breed--the rainbow swiftwing (North American variant)--it was obvious that he and Rafale were racing dragons.

Rainbow swiftwings had been first domesticated millennia ago as companion animals prized for their speed and intelligence. They came in all sorts of different, vibrant scale colours, which made for an excellent display during aerial races (and also helped spectators identify which dragon was the one they had bet money on). Rafale was dark malachite green, whereas Apollo's scales were light aquamarine blue--both of their colour patterns were dazzling compared to Nitidus's dull grey scales.

"Go, blue twig. Go with green twig and mount her. If I mounted her, would crush her under all my muscle. Rmf, rmf..." Nitidus said, making a rumbling noise that could have been laughter.

"You're just jealous because the three time champion of the regional tristate racing championship likes me, not you," Apollo retorted.

"Good for you. Good that you found another twig who likes you, twig. You two can be useless together," said Nitidus, and with that insult he closed his eyes and went back to his nap.

Apollo decided to ignore Nitidus--all his attention was instead focused on the green-scaled dragoness who trotted up to him and grinned.

"Hey there, good looking. What brings you to this part of town?" Rafale said.

Apollo blinked and glanced around the street. They were in the shade of the shopping mall, with no other dragons nearby. "Are...are you talking to me? Am I good looking?"

Rafale's grin got a fraction wider. "Sure I am. You see any other good looking dragons around here?" She turned to Nitidus and made a strange clicking sound with her tongue. "_Tsk._No offense to you greyback, but you're not really my type."

Nitidus clicked his tongue twice in response. "Tsk-tsk." This was clearly some form of non-verbal communication, but Apollo didn't understand the meaning of it. Why couldn't dragons just talk with each other like humans did? Although to be fair, humans also had their own fair share of strange and unintuitive non-verbal language--facial expressions, body postures, hand gestures, and so on. How was he supposed to know all of this by heart?

"As I was saying--what bring you to this part of town?" Rafale asked.

Apollo took a moment to consider this question before responding. "Shopping for T-shirts and souvenirs," he replied.

"Oh, but you aren't wearing a T-shirt. You aren't wearing anything at all, actually..." Rafale said, playfully glancing under Apollo's belly just to check.

"That's not true. I'm wearing a saddle." Apollo pointed over his shoulder towards his back, where a simple leather saddle was resting--it would distribute Jennifer's weight when she rode him in flight, otherwise he could end up with a backache. As a racer, he couldn't afford to risk back injury from carrying a human without a saddle.

"Hmm. Flew your human in, did you? I flew Ian to the shopping mall, but I left my saddle with Magellan--he's the drake who carries Ian's entourage." Rafale trotted up beside Apollo and turned around so he could see her back...and also a glimpse of her flanks. "Of course, there are other things I prefer to feel on my back. You, for example... Rrrrr..." The dragoness started purring softly and she rubbed herself against his side.

"Oh? Uh, ok..." said the drake, wondering what was up with the sudden physical contact. Apollo had never had another dragon just come up to him and rub against him like this. Acting on the first impulse that came to mind, he raised a paw and used his partially extended claws to gently scratch Rafale's back.

"Rrrrr--what?" Rafale said, abruptly cutting off her purr and turning to stare at him.

Apollo gave her an unsure look. "I just...thought that you were rubbing against me because you had an itch on your back? Or...something? Was that the wrong thing to do?"

Rafale stared blankly at him for a few seconds, then she snorted and burst out laughing. "Pftt--hahahahaha!" Rafale had a nice laugh that sounded pleasingly melodic; Apollo noted that he really liked it when she laughed, which was good since everything he did seemed to be unintentionally hilarious to her. "Hahaha... An itch...? Oh wow, you are just...ahahahahaha! You are quite possibly the most socially inept dragon I have ever seen! Do I make you adorably flustered, or are you like this with everyone?"

"He's like this with everyone. This is what happens when you let human raise dragon egg until adult. No instincts," Nitidus said. The freighter was watching the two racing dragons with a faintly amused expression. "Apollo you really do not know this action means?"

Apollo shook his head. "No?! Is there a book or something I can read that explains all this? It's not intuitive at all," he grumbled.

Rafale resumed purring and she continued rubbing herself against his side. "Rrrrr..."

Folding his forelegs, Nitidus placed his head down and shut his eyes again. "Is simple. When someone touches and rubs against you it means they like you. If they do this and purr it means they like you extra much."

"Oh, that's good," Apollo said. This made sense--it was nice to feel Rafale's warmth against his side and feel her scales sliding against his.

"And if this is done by female in heat, it is invitation to climb on her back and mount her," continued Nitidus. "Although maybe you do not want to do this over here or the mall security people will be unhappy."

Rafale sighed softly. "Huuh... Why do I even bother flirting? I have friends who make just the _slightest_twitch of their tails, and they expect that the drake they're talking with will understand that hint. So I thought I was being very unsubtle here, but clearly not enough."

"Sorry," said Apollo. Remembering what Rafale had told him yesterday, he leaned closer and started licking her neck. This was supposedly something dragons did to each other to express affection, so he assumed it would be the right thing to do.

"Oo, that's good. You learn fast." Rafale shuddered at the sensation. "It's my damn heat cycle--it makes me so hot and bothered! I just want to jump at you and get my claws on you and murder you. Maybe I will..."And with that brief warning, the green-scaled dragoness straightened up and lunged.

Apollo had no idea how to react as suddenly Rafale leapt at him and tackled him to the ground. "Eeee!" He squealed as the dragoness crashed into his side and knocked him over. A few of the humans passing by on the street glanced over, but most of them ignored the scene of two racing dragons playfully tussling. Nitidus briefly opened an eye and snorted at the sight before returning to his snooze.

Apollo ended up pinned down on his back and completely vulnerable. He went completely limp as Rafale smoothly jumped over him and pinned him down with her weight. "You're _mine_now," she growled, and then she used her jaws to clamp down on his throat.

Never in his life had Apollo ever gotten any experience with play-fighting or wrestling. Jennifer had given him hugs, pats, and snuggled against him many times as he grew from a tiny hatchling who liked to perch on her shoulder into a grown dragon who could carry her in flight, but playing with a human had taught him nothing about how dragons fought. Apollo had seen the freighter dragons brawl with each other (not too roughly, or the ranchers would step in and break up the fights), but watching them was clearly no substitute for actually learning how to fight. The only thing he knew was how to concede a loss. "Mercy!" he exclaimed, as Rafale got her teeth around his throat.

Rafale released her grip around his neck, but she sat lazily on top of him and didn't let him get up. "Merci? Pourquoi me remerciez-vous?" she said, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

Apollo blinked in confusion. "What?" he asked, wondering if his ears had suddenly stopped working. None of what Rafale had just said made any sense to him. The words seemed to roll of her tongue smoothly, but her phrasing and intonation were incomprehensible.

Despite not having eyebrows, Rafale did a very credible imitation of raising an eyebrow by raising an eye ridge. Her mouth curled into an amused smile. "Savez-vous combien de temps j'ai attendu pour faire cette blague? Et vous ne le comprenez même pas. Triste."

"What?!" repeated Apollo.

Rafale sighed dramatically and playfully licked the side of Apollo's snout. "Ça ne fait rien. Never mind. I guess if you don't know much about being a dragon other than how to fly and race, I can't expect you to be very good at fighting."

It took Apollo a few more seconds to process the words Rafale was saying and figure out where he had heard them before. "Was that Latin--no wait, French? You...you speak French?" he asked.

Rafale jumped off his prone body and rolled him back to his feet. "Surprised? Don't be. Where do you think the name 'Rafale' comes from? Hint--it's not mandarin."

Apollo shook himself to dislodge any dust or dirt which had gotten onto his scales during their brief tussle. "Do you speak that too?"

"Y? di?ndi?n... No I'm just messing with you. Although I did meet a celestial when I went with Ian on a business trip to Beijing four years ago; he was an interesting drake, and it was fun to have a little cultural exchange. We still swap letters every month."

"I've never even left the country," Apollo admitted.

Rafale hummed softly. "Hmm. Given how well you flew in your first ever race, I wouldn't be too surprised if you made it to the national championships within a few years. It's a really interesting event; I'd recommend you go as a spectator even if you can't make it in as a competitor. There are lots of different dragons there from all different places--racers from all over the country and spectators from all over the world. Most of the Europeans breeds don't look too different from local dragons like you, me, or your greyback friend here." Rafale nodded towards Nitidus. "But the Asian dragons are something else entirely, as are the feathered serpents."

"Oh, I've met a quetzalcoatl!" Apollo said, "Her feathers were very strange. She was at the international aerodrome, carrying her human on a round-the-world trip."

"A round-the-world trip? I've always want to do something like that--flying past every longitude on the planet, just to say that I've done it. Maybe I'll do it now that I'm done with racing. I've always wanted to go see the world. I don't understood dragons who spend their whole life in one place..." Rafale blinked and stared upwards, taking in the clear afternoon sky.

Apollo turned his head to follow her gaze. "I love flying, but at the end of the day wouldn't you want to return home? Where the sounds and smells are familiar, where you know all the people, and where you aren't alone. I've only been away from the ranch for a week, but I'm missing my bed already."

"Fair enough! Much as I love to wander, on a cold night nothing beats the feeling of having someone warm to lean against." Rafale unfurled her wings and flapped them twice. "The open sky calls! Shall we head back to the hotel? I've been told that the humans want to keep talking business. No use in us waiting around for them all afternoon. I've got better things to do with my life."

Apollo eagerly nodded his head and unfurled his own wings. "Oh, yes! Let's go do something interesting." He turned to Nitidus and nodded a quick goodbye. "See you later, Nitidus."

Without opening his eyes, the freighter made a pair of clicks and a short humming noise. "Tsk-tsk. Hmm--rrrsm. Bye twig. Bye other twig."

The two racing dragons leapt into the air. Rafale led the way as they cleared the buildings and flew into the clear, cloudless sky. Apollo followed and trailed in the wake generated by Rafale's left wing, taking up a standard wingman formation. The two dragons cut through the air gracefully--blue and green colours proudly visible in the bright afternoon sun, wings flapping in synchronized beats as they climbed.

From his position just behind Rafale's wing, Apollo could easily see the way the former champion had to compensate for her injury. Her injured limb had healed well enough that she was still flying capably, but nonetheless it was clear that her racing days were over. With every wingbeat Apollo could see that Rafale's damaged aerofoil wasn't as flexible as her uninjured wing, and she was beating harder to make up for the added drag. Apollo imagined what Rafale would have looked like back when she was still racing, before she had crashed and injured her wing. If he had been one of her competitors who had fallen behind her in the race, would he have stood any chance of catching up and overtaking?

The pair circled the large shopping mall and rode a thermal generated by the heat of the afternoon sun on the concrete roof. Once they had gained enough altitude, they turned and headed for one particular skyscraper--the hotel where they were staying for the duration of the racing championship and the days afterwards.

Even from afar, it was obvious that the Grandton Hotel had been designed for both humans and dragons. The hotel was a tall rectangular skyscraper, and at alternating sides and levels there were long balcony ledges extending around the building like ridges--these were designed specifically so that dragons could takeoff and land directly from their rooms at various levels, instead of relying completely on lifts or stairs. Most of the hotel rooms were still designed for human patrons, but there was enough business from racing dragons arriving every year that the hotel catered to dragons as well. Apollo had helped Jennifer plan this trip and he knew that this was the only hotel in the city which accepted dragons, though there were several lower-budget hostels which also had specific sections where draconic guests were allowed.

As the two dragons approached the hotel, they circled the building once to bleed off excess speed, and then they landed on the rooftop one at a time. Rafale flared her wings upwards as she landed, trotting forward a few steps as she dropped onto her paws. Apollo landed just a few seconds after her in a similar motion.

As befitted a hotel which accepted dragons, Grandton's roof had a large space dedicated to a landing pad for takeoffs and landings. A swimming pool took up the rest of the space, beside which there was a bar serving beverages.

The moment the two dragons touched down on the landing pad and folded their wings shut, they were approached by a quartet of humans wearing neat uniforms that identified them as hotel staff. "Good afternoon, ma'am, welcome back. Weather is hot today; would you like a drink?" asked the man in the lead, bowing politely. Meanwhile, two of the staff began using a soft brush and a towel to quickly clean Rafale's scales and wipe off any dust or dirt which had accumulated during flight.

"Just ice water," Rafale replied, keeping her wings partially unfurled so they could be cleaned too. She turned to Apollo. "You want anything?"

"I...uh...water is fine," replied the drake, watching the humans with surprise. In the past few days returning to the hotel, no one had ever approached him to offer beverages, and certainly no one had ever helped him clean his scales (other than Jennifer).

The remaining two hotel staff walked over to the poolside bar and quickly returned carrying drinks, served in oversized glass cups that were large enough to be considered buckets. Rafale drank straight from the proffered glass, whereas Apollo took his glass with his paw and sipped from it after murmuring thanks to the lady handing it to him. He noted that someone seemed to have dropped a lemon slice into it for some reason. Before he could ask if this was intentional or not, the two staff with brushes walked over to him and began cleaning his scales too. "Oh, oh. Thank you! You people are very helpful!" he told them.

"Just doing my job, sir. Would you like your harness taken off?" asked the woman brushing his scales.

"Uh, ok!" Apollo said, and instantly the humans started pulling the buckles and release catches of his saddle, loosening the straps so that it could be taken off his back. They moved with a quick, professional manner that showed they had done this often. Was that really their job--just to take care of guests?

"Is there anything else I can do for you, ma'am?" asked the man who had spoken first.

"No, that's fine. Thanks," Rafale said. She turned and tapped Apollo's side. "Tell them your room number so they can leave your harness there."

Apollo gave his room number to the lady holding his saddle, and then he thanked them all again for just being so helpful, which got him a few warm smiles in response. Then he followed after Rafale, who was walking not to the normal rooftop entrance of the hotel, but towards a smaller entrance off to the side. "Rafale, are you a VIP?" he asked, realizing why they were getting all this special treatment.

"Are you not?" replied the malachite dragoness, then she immediately halted and glanced at him with an embarrassed look. "Wait, I sound so conceited. Sorry. Uh, I mean...Ian is sort of...an important person, what with running Caedry Aerospace Group and all that, so yeaaah... And your owners run a whole ranch full of grey-backed nettled gliders, so you aren't exactly impoverished yourself."

"That is true, but I don't have people walking up to brush my scales and offer me drinks every time I land. It's so nice!" Apollo could see that the humans had returned to their place at the poolside, serving drinks there, except for the one staff member who was carrying his harness and heading inside the building.

Rafale sighed softly, and this time Apollo realized this was a weary sound, not just dramatic flair. "Trust me on this--wealth doesn't make you happy. I wish it would, but Ian is a lonely man. I wonder if that's why he bought my egg in the first place, all those years ago..." murmured the dragoness. "Now I'm his pet and friend and companion, but there are still things I can't give him." She stopped under the shaded entrance to the hotel and glanced out to the swimming pool. "It's just...well, never mind. I don't want to get into it."

Apollo followed her gaze and saw a half-dozen human children swimming under the watchful gaze of several adults. The children were splashing and playing beside another, smaller, rainbow swiftwing--this particular dragon had scales of light yellow and looked to be just a fledgling, not a fully grown adult. The fledgling was floating in the pool with her head resting on her back, eyes closed in a nap, and she seemed perfectly content to allow the children to clamber up her side to leap back into the pool as they splashed about.

"That's Gripen--she's Ian's third racing dragon besides me and Typhoon, although she wasn't in the race because she's still just a fledgling," Rafale explained. "Have I ranted to you about our names yet?"

"I don't believe you have done so," Apollo replied.

Rafale nodded. "Good, then let me rant. Ahem. As far as names go, Rafale and Typhoon are hackneyed but still not that bad. Gripen, on the other hand, doesn't make sense as a name. Ian might have revolutionized the aviation industry and become incredibly rich and powerful as a result, but sometimes he just acts so damn silly! Bloody hell--he named a dragon, Gripen. Gripen!! That means griffin! He literally named a dragon, 'The Griffin'! Do not tell Gripen I said her name is silly, though. It's just...you know."

Apollo grinned. "Duly noted. My lips are sealed," he said.

"Ian's a bit twee sometimes, but he dotes on Gripen and she's a sweet little thing. She thinks the world of Typhoon, although I can't possibly see why she admires that arrogant prick so much. That's family, I guess."

"You guys are related?" asked Apollo.

"No, but we're still a family." Rafale had a fond look on her face as she watched Gripen lounging in the pool. "I'd give a kidney to Gripen or Typhoon if they needed it. Ian too, although it wouldn't fit inside him and also he'd get transplant rejection. They're family to me."

Apollo could understand this sentiment completely; back on his home ranch, Jay, Jennifer, and the rest of the humans were his family. Even Nitidus and the other freighter dragons were also his family in a way; although perhaps they would count more as distant, unfriendly, and slightly eccentric family members.

The two dragons entered the hotel, and the cool blast of air conditioning was a welcome relief from the warm afternoon air. Instead of taking the elevator, Rafale took the stairs down one floor and went to the first suite in the corridor. Sitting back on her haunches, she reached for her neck. For a second her forepaw rested on the silver emerald necklace she was wearing. "Ian gave this to me. It's worth so much more than any medal I've ever won..." she murmured, seemingly lost in thought.

"Literally or figuratively?" asked Apollo, peering at the piece of jewellery. Most dragons appreciated the value of precious metals and gems much more than paper currency, so Jay's ranch paid out allowances to their freighters (meant for purchasing food or accommodation whilst on deliveries) using buckets full of coins. Apollo himself didn't fly deliveries and therefore didn't receive such an allowance, but Jennifer would give him money if he asked her for it and explained what he was buying (usually birthday gifts for her, which ruined the surprise a little bit).

Jennifer had also explained to him that sitting on a large pile of coinage wasn't as useful as giving it to a bank so that they could sit on it, which would somehow encourage the coins to multiply. He wasn't completely sure how the bank did this, but Jennifer had assured him that investing was a sound strategy (and she had been to business school, so she knew these things).

Apollo was far from an expert in gemology, but Rafale's necklace was definitely much bigger and shinier than anything he had ever seen Jennifer or her mother wearing, although they weren't dragons so it wasn't quite a fair comparison.

"Both. The day when I won my first championship was the day I learned that there are more important things in life than racing..." replied Rafale. She paused and frowned at Apollo. "Oh no! Why am I acting so sentimental today? Bloody hell, I think retirement is making me senile." Then she grabbed the keycard which was tied around her neck with a lanyard and slapped it against the door's electronic lock. Dragons didn't have anywhere near as much dexterity as humans, but (for rainbow swiftwings) their forepaws could at least hold and manipulate simple objects like a keycard. The lock beeped and flashed a green light, and Rafale shoved the door open by its push bar.

On entering the hotel room, the first thing Rafale did was to reach for the thermostat and turn it to the lowest temperature it would allow.

"Are you that hot?" asked Apollo, following the dragoness into the room.

"I would wink wink at you and say 'you know it', but I am actually feeling very warm," replied Rafale. "Although that's probably because I'm in heat, which also has wink wink potential. So if you're cold, just tell me and we can cuddle close together or do some physical exertion; wink wink." She winked at him and even though Apollo was terrible at interpreting the body language of dragons, he could guess what that remark had meant.

The drake walked around the hotel room, taking in just how much more space there was. Jennifer and Jay were sharing a modestly sized room while he and Nitidus took a slightly larger dragon-sized room next door to them, but it seemed like Ian Caedry could afford much more luxury for him and his three racing dragons. Everything about this hotel room was perfectly spotless and emitted an aura of opulence; from the soft carpet, to the careful lighting in the roof, to the intricately designed curtains. A piano was even included amongst all the furniture, and there was also a huge flat-panel display screen that was bigger than any television he had seen before. The screen had to be at least a dozen times larger than the display of Jennifer's laptop computer.

"Wow. This is insane--oh, hello! I didn't see you there," exclaimed Apollo, realizing that there was another dragoness sitting beside one of the bookshelves.

"Good afternoon," said the dragoness in a quiet but heavily resonant voice. She bowed politely, but her large green eyes never left Apollo. This dragoness was of a different breed which Apollo couldn't identify; she had jet black scales and a thicker, bulkier build than the pair of racing dragons. Her neck was shorter and her snout was more rounded than the pointy, triangular snouts of the two rainbow swiftwings. Most notably, Apollo spotted that the tip of the dragoness's tail had a fin which resembled a miniature set of wings--a horizontal stabilizer. Good for manoeuvrability and stability in certain flight conditions, but bad for pure overall speed.

"Hey Darty. This is Apollo, the racing champ who trashed Typhoon," said Rafale. She turned to Apollo and gestured to the black-scaled dragoness. "And this is Darty, which stands for, uh, Dartemis. She's one of Ian's bodyguards. Strong silent type--used to work in the air force."

"Nice to meet you," said Apollo, "A dragon bodyguard...how interesting! I would have thought Ian would have human bodyguards."

"He has both," Rafale explained. "You need dragons to transport the human bodyguards anyway, so you might as well have the dragons trained in fighting too. Not play-fighting or wrestling--real fighting with claws and teeth and violence! Rawr, rawr." Rafale reared up on her hindlimbs and playfully flailed her forepaws at Apollo.

Apollo laughed and used his wings to deflect her assault, but Dartemis, true to Rafale's description, remained stoically silent and unreactive.

"But isn't Ian over at that shopping mall? Why guard the room if he isn't here?" asked Apollo.

"To make sure assassins don't sneak in and prepare an ambush? I don't know. I'm companionship, not security." Rafale walked over to the minibar (which wasn't mini at all) and tugged the fridge open, then she started looking through all the various foodstuffs contained within.

"Hmm..." Apollo walked over to the window and glanced out to take in the lovely view. He turned back and looked around the room, which made him come to a realization. "Wait, something's missing. Where are the beds?"

"In the bedrooms, of course," said Rafale, with her head still stuck in the fridge. She started munching on ice cubes, and the she used her tail to point across to the other side of the room.

Apollo realized that this hotel room was more than just a single, large, incredibly well-furnished room, but rather it was a series of rooms--a suite. Curious, he peeked into the open doorway of the closest room. This room was furnished and decorated just as well as the main suite room, but this was a bedroom with a writing desk at the window and a sizable bed which was neatly made up. Although the bed was easily large enough to fit a dragon, Apollo assumed that Ian was staying in this room because the table had a chair instead of a seating cushion for a dragon to sit on. A window with a scenic view of the city took up one entire wall, while another wall had a huge television panel similar to the one outside.

Still feeling curious, Apollo stuck his head into the next adjacent bedroom of the suite and discovered that it was almost identical to the first bedroom, but with two notable exceptions. Firstly the television on the wall was switched on and showing some sort of crime drama, and secondly there was another rainbow swiftwing lying on the bed.

This new dragon was lying on his back, propped up by a pile of pillows so he could watch the television. Normally dragons would prefer to rest on their bellies if they needed to raise their heads to watch something, but Apollo could see why this drake had not done so--his chest was obscured behind several large bandages, and both his forepaws were partially wrapped in gauze. For a brief moment Apollo also thought that the drake's wings were bound up in dressings, but then he realized that these were just white stripe patterns running across the maroon coloured wing surfaces. Other than the bold white stripes on his wings, this drake's scales were varying shades of reddish brown all over. A blanket loosely covered the lower half of his body and a portion of his tail.

Apollo recognized the drake easily. He was the dragon who the sports analysts had predicted as most likely to win the regional racing championship, the dragon who had taken the lead for most of the race, and also the dragon who had collided with another racer and crashed, allowing Apollo to sprint ahead and take first place. He was Ian's second racing dragon, Typhoon.

Apollo stared at Typhoon, and Typhoon stared back. Neither of them said anything for a few moments, then Typhoon moved his paw and tapped a remote control, muting the television. Apollo wasn't so good at reading the emotional state of other dragons, but all his years growing up with humans had thought him how to pay attention to body language even if dragons didn't emote in quite the same way. In that aspect, the past few days spent with Rafale had been quite enlightening--she was a rather expressive dragoness, and he had learned fast. As far as Apollo could tell, the look on Typhoon's face was envy, a little humiliation, but also quite a bit of curiosity.

Finally he decided to break the silence first. "Uh...hello, Typhoon. I'm Apollo," said Apollo, bowing his head politely.

"I know who you are! So it's you! Hello, Apollo." Typhoon tried to bow his head and return the greeting, but a bandage on his neck got in the way. His voice had a stronger draconic accent than Rafale's, making his words more rumbly and resonant, but he was still easily understandable (and nowhere near as bad as Nitidus the Freighter or Dartemis the Bodyguard). "Nice to finally meet you, but I hope you haven't come to gloat."

Apollo shook his head. "No, not at all. That wouldn't be nice."

"Good! Hmr." Typhoon hummed and let his head drop against the bed, which made his horns bump against the headboard. "Ahh. Because just so you know, I would definitely have won if Imperium hadn't crashed into me."

"Probably," agreed Apollo, although he didn't honestly think so. Typhoon had taken the lead throughout most of the race, which meant that he'd been wasting energy fighting the most aerodynamic drag whereas everyone else had been flying efficiently in his wake. Apollo had specifically saved up his strength for the very last portion of the race so that he could try and sprint ahead at the last moment, and the results spoke for themselves. "At least Imperium is retiring, so you won't be able to crash into her next year."

"Hey now! I was in the lead and Imperium was second; it was her responsibility to avoid me. You were behind us--didn't you see what happened? I've watched the replays, but still..." said Typhoon.

"I saw you both hit wind shear, but you overcompensated and Imperium tried to overtake at precisely that moment. Just bad luck."

"Just bad luck? To lose my first championship because of wind shear would be unfortunate, but to _crash_is completely humiliating." Typhoon's tail twitched and Apollo was amused to note that the very tip of the appendage was white--the natural scale colouration made it look like Typhoon had dipped his tail into white paint.

"I hope you aren't badly injured. Those are quite a few bandages."

"Yeah, yeah. That's exactly what I told the doctor, but she was very insistent. Don't want the scales to regrow improperly or it would look ugly, so instead I'm stuck in this bed for at least a week." Typhoon shifted his position slightly so that he could lean his head over to the bedside table and lap water from a large cup. "Also, since you're here, I assume that means that Rafale is back..."

"That is...correct!" Rafale cheerfully declared, trotting into the bedroom. "I have returned. Did you miss me?"

"No, not at all," replied Typhoon. He frowned at Rafale and retracted his statement. "Ok, maybe I missed you a little bit... It's so boring here--I've been stuck in this room for two days! I haven't been able fly at all; my flight regime is going to be all out of whack."

"Regime?" asked Apollo.

Typhoon turned to the blue-scaled drake. "Yeah, my training regime, you know? Practicing my flying technique. I usually try to fly at least six hours every day to keep up my racing form and...and you...don't know what I'm talking about? Gosh, I lost the regional championship to a drake who doesn't know anything about training or flight practice? Oh no, no, no... I really suck...."

"That is correct--you suck," agreed Rafale. She walked over to Typhoon and patted his head condescendingly. "Ahaha, you look like a sad turtle that's been flipped on his back."

"It was Imperium's fault! She crashed into me! Gah!" Typhoon tried to slap away Rafale's paw, but his bandages restricted his movement. "I'm serious about being bored though! Darty is terrible conversation; she just stares blankly at me whenever I try to start a chat."

"Aww, Typhoon, you're being ignored by the help! Maybe she just doesn't like talking to you--did you ever consider that? Not everyone loves to hear your voice as much as you do. Darty's job is to be Ian's bodyguard, not to keep you entertained," Rafale said.

"If she doesn't want to talk that's fine, but isn't security a really boring job? How come she doesn't get bored? I've been trying to figure it out for the past two days. She flew in the air force as a bomber, right? You need all sorts of clearance for that, so she has to be smart! But when I talk to her she just...nods quietly and doesn't say anything! And I can see in those big green eyes that she's thinking something, but she doesn't talk. It's so weird!" Typhoon raised his voice. "Do you hear me, Darty?! You can't stay mysterious forever! I'll figure you out, and one day we'll have a meaningful conversation about something..."

Apollo glanced out the bedroom to see what the black-scaled bodyguard's reaction was to this declaration. Dartemis was walking around the room, carrying in her mouth some sort of device that had a large antenna and waving it at furniture and the walls. If she cared at all about what Typhoon was rambling about, she did not show it--a true professional.

"Is Ian back too?" asked Typhoon.

"No, he met up with Apollo's humans to discuss their business stuff," Rafale said.

"Typical. Even while on vacation he still has to keep finding work to do."

"If Ian enjoys doing business, that's good for him, and the company, and all dragons in general. And speaking of business, Apollo and I have a lot of business to do if we're going to make an egg. Come on, let's go somewhere quieter." Rafale stood up and headed out the room.

Apollo turned to leave and follow Rafale out, but before they left the bedroom, they heard Typhoon speak up. "No wait, don't go. You could...do it here...if you want."

Rafale stopped in her tracks and spun back around. She gave a bemused look to Apollo, and then walked up to Typhoon's bed. "Here? In your bedroom? Why you kinky pervert! You want to watch us!"

"I'm bored!" replied Typhoon. "I don't have anything else to do; I'm just sitting here all day and watching the television."

"So you'd rather watch me and Apollo screw each other senseless? Ha!" Rafale let out a barking laugh, but she grinned naughtily. "I wouldn't mind, though. What about you Apollo? Want to let Typhoon see you 'fly your victory lap'?"

Apollo had no reason to be ashamed. "Ok. If he's bored, I guess we should keep him company."

"Ha! That's the spirit. You hear that, Typhoon? Apollo isn't afraid to show you what he's got."

Typhoon flicked his wings, or tried to. "At least I won't feel so alone, lying in this bed and know that you two were having fun next door while I lie here and stare at the TV. And I do confess to being curious to see if mating with you is anything like how I imagined it would be."

"So you fantasize about me? That's definitely kinky. Also a bit creepy, but maybe a bit flattering," said Rafale.

"Hey, it's not just you. I fantasize about having sex with pretty much every attractive dragoness I lay my eyes on," Typhoon admitted. This came as somewhat of a surprise to Apollo--he had never fantasized about trying to mate with anyone, although admittedly he hadn't been aware that mating would feel so wonderful until Rafale had educated him on that subject a few days ago. Since that event, he'd been very much looking forward to his next meeting with her.

Rafale walked over to the bedroom door and pushed it shut before twisting the locking knob. Then she walked over to the desk and grabbed the massive floor cushion that was for dragons to sit on. She pulled the cushion closer towards the bed, and then she jumped onto the cushion, turned her rear towards Apollo, and raised her tail. "Ok I'm ready. Carry on."

"Just like that?" asked Typhoon.

"If you want to see foreplay, ask a dragoness who isn't in heat." Rafale waved her tail at Apollo, who was staring captivated by her behind. "Let's go!"

"Right...right." Apollo trotted forward and sniffed at Rafale's eagerly presented genital slit. The smell and taste of her fertility quickly began to short circuit his conscious mind, and within seconds his penis had pushed out of his own genital slit, revealing his arousal. It took him only a few more seconds to assume a mounting position over Rafale, and then he carefully aligned his erection and inserted himself. And then they were mating, simple as that.

With Typhoon curiously watching from his place on the bed, Apollo began thrusting into Rafale, humping his hips to push his phallus in and out of her. Rafale had her eyes closed, and she reached a paw down to start rubbing herself even as Apollo thrust into her. "Don't be gentle. Harder!" she muttered.

Apollo tried to comply, but there was really only so much he could do. Rafale felt warm and wet and soft as he mated with her--so much so that even as he shoved himself in and out as fast as he could, she still felt slick. Less than a minute later, the dragoness tensed up and inhaled sharply. "Ooh, yeah. Urrgh..."

Apollo felt Rafale's slit clench up around his length as she experienced an orgasm. Idly he wondered why everyone didn't spend all their time mating with each other, if orgasms were supposed to feel so good and they were so easy to achieve.

"Urrrgh... That felt good! I really needed that. Kind of feel bad now..." Rafale had a grin on her face, but then that pleasured expression faded when she opened her eyes and saw Typhoon watching her with an obvious curiosity. The maroon-scaled drake appeared to be quite aroused, even though Apollo was the only one who was actually getting to mate with her. Rafale said nothing for a few seconds, then suddenly she spoke in a sharp tone. "Stop!" she ordered.

At the command, Apollo instantly froze. Had he done something wrong?

"Ok, I think I really let my heat get the better of me. Gah!" Rafale let out an annoyed grunt. She straightened up and walked forward, pulling herself off Apollo and leaving him just standing on the seating cushion with his erection jutting out from his underbelly. "Let's try this again, but properly. I do feel like I'm sending the wrong idea to both of you. Unless you're mating a dragoness in heat--which you probably won't be doing all that much--you can't just expect to mount someone immediately and hump away until they cum. Odds are you'll blow first, and it's just...rude to be in such a rush."

Rafale walked around Apollo--she started rubbing her side against his, just like she had done earlier out on the street. "What you should do is take it slow and make your partner feel appreciated. Treat their pleasure as just as important as your own, or possibly even more so. Ask them what they want...or where they like to be touched..." Rafale gently lifted Apollo's left wing and licked the sensitive undersides of his flight surfaces, making the drake squirm from the ticklish sensation. "Maybe I should give you two a crash course in how not to be terrible at sex. I wouldn't call myself a master, but I've got way more experience with both drakes and dragonesses than either of you."

Typhoon perked up and looked intrigued. "You've mated with other dragonesses? When? How does that work--"

"Shhhh..." Rafale hushed him. "You're just here to observe. If you've got something you want to say, save it for later." She turned to Apollo and fixed him with an intense, almost hungry look. "But as for you and me, Apollo? We're going to have a real good time."

"I think it was a valid question though," Apollo said. "How exactly do two females mate with each other? How do you--"

Which was as far as he got with his question before Rafale spun around and curled her tail around his muzzle. "And there you have misconception number one--that there is only one way to have sex. It doesn't just have to be cock in vagina. You can use your paws, or your tongue, or even your tail. Have a bit more imagination! You don't actually have to have sex to satisfy yourself and your partner. I can show you--lie down." Rafale nudged Apollo's side, and the drake obediently lay down on all fours, resting his chest and belly on the large seating cushion.

With a sigh, Rafale prodded his side more insistently. "Not on your front! On your side, or better yet, your back. How am I supposed to get anything done without access to your fun bits?"

"Right. I knew that..." With a slight hesitation, Apollo rolled over onto his back, partially unfurling his wings so that he would not be flattening them.

Rafale grinned as this new position left Apollo's underbelly completely exposed, and his erection proudly jutted upwards. She grasped his penis with a paw and gave it a few gentle strokes, touching him so lightly that her paw pads smoothly slid over his exposed flesh. "It doesn't matter if you're male or female; a little foreplay, a bit of teasing, makes things more fun for everyone involved. Sometimes it's better to take things slow--"

"Could you...uh...move a bit to the side so I can see?" Typhoon suggested.

Rafale rolled her eyes, but her current position directly in front of Apollo meant her body was blocking Typhoon's view of all the action. "Is this what it feels like to be a stripper?" she muttered. Rafale stood up and grabbed Apollo's tail, rotating him on the cushion then taking a few steps to the side so that Typhoon could see what they were doing. "You got a good view? Alright. Now where was I?"

Rafale turned herself around so that she was standing over Apollo's body with her hips just in front of his muzzle. They were facing opposite directions, with Rafale standing over him. This time Apollo had some idea of what she wanted--he started using his tongue to try and lick at her slit, repeated lapping and trying to taste and get at that odd scent that awakened a primal urge inside him. As he continued to try and lick her, Rafale continued to stroke his phallus for the next few minutes.

Eventually the green-scaled dragoness spoke again. "That's how we get it done. No need for any fancy nonsense, just two dragons touching each other. Your technique's not bad, but could be better. Maybe some other day I'll teach you how to do that properly. Today though...let's just go with what works." Rafale curled her tail around Apollo's neck and gently pushed his snout away from her slit. "Now once you've got your partner all good and warmed up, we go to the main event." Then she turned herself around and aligned his erection up with her underbelly before slowly lowering herself down.

"Oh..." Apollo let out a moan at the sudden but most welcome sensation. After some minutes of teasing by Rafale's paws, his phallus felt all the more sensitive and ready. He put his forepaws on Rafale's hips as she continued to ride him up and down in an almost hypnotic motion. The feeling of warm, wet flesh sliding against his phallus was pleasant like nothing else. Whereas their first coupling had been quick and intense, this time the experience was slower and far more sensual. Apollo could just barely move his hips to thrust, but ultimately Rafale was the one controlling the speed and depth of their motion. Given the choice, Apollo instinctually would have opted to go faster, but this slower speed forced him to take his time and savour the building sensation. Rafale leaned in closer and locked her gaze on his. "Apollo," she said, dragging his name into a soft noise that was half growl, half moan. "Anyway, you should always warn your partner before you cum, letting them know that you're going to be making a mess in or on them. Oh, and...uh...remember to ask before you knot someone. It really never hurts to ask, and some people get annoyed if you don't."

"Ok. So...so can I...knot you?" Apollo asked. "This feels really good."

Rafale nodded and licked the side of his snout. "Sure. We're trying to make an egg, right? Go ahead and knot me hard--I want to feel you shooting inside me."

"Yes, I'll...do that." Eventually Apollo felt the pleasure in his loins become too intense to tolerate. Rafale lowered her hips one last time, sliding all the way down his length until their genital slits brushed against each other, and then she couldn't pull off because Apollo's paws were clutching her hips and holding her down. Instinctually he knew that he had to do this--he had to thrust as deep as he could and feel her warmth all around his phallus. The bulge at the base of his erection filled with blood and engorged, locking them together as Apollo felt an intense surge run through his underbelly. He could feel muscles in his groin begin to twitch and spasm, each pulse sending waves of delightful ecstasy running through his whole frame. His tail curled up and his wings beat against the floor at the sheer intensity of the moment. His eyes went half-lidded and his gaze went blank as pleasure overrode all his conscious thought and swept his mind away for a short but wonderful period of time. When the climactic pleasure finally seemed to fade away and recede, Apollo was left panting and feeling drained yet fully satisfied.

"Second time's the charm. Whew!" Rafale let out a short exhalation. She licked the side of Apollo's throat again and whispered in his ear. "You know, I'm really starting to like you." Then she stood up and glanced over to Typhoon. "So what do you think? You still feeling bored after seeing that?"

Typhoon let out a soft whine. He was clearly very aroused, with his erection forming a tent with the blanket covering his underbelly. "Hrr... That was... Wow, you were..."

"Amazing," said Apollo, finishing the sentence on Typhoon's behalf. "That felt so good..."

Rafale grinned, looking pleased with the attention she was receiving from the two drakes. "Thank you, thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed the show. And since you've gotten a good look at us, I think it's only fair to return the favour..." The malachite dragoness leapt off Apollo. She strolled over to the bed and snatched the blanket off Typhoon's supine body, leaving him completely exposed.

Apollo's eyes went wide when he finally got a good look at the maroon drake's underbelly. He rolled himself upright and sat back on his haunches, almost unable to believe his eyes. Typhoon's phallus was a stiff rod of flesh protruding outwards from a genital slit on his underbelly, but in that aspect he was fairly similar to Apollo himself, albeit with a different colour that matched the rest of his scales. However the key difference was that Typhoon didn't just have an erection--he had two. Both phalluses looked identical and originated from the same genital slit; they were side by side, and each was pointed out at a slight angle from vertical. Size-wise Apollo thought they each penis looked slightly smaller than his own equipment, but Typhoon had two of them. He had...two of them_._ What?

Despite Apollo's astonishment, Rafale didn't seem surprised at all. She sat down on her haunches next to Typhoon's bed, flicked her wings, and made an indecisive noise. "Eh... Not bad. I think Apollo's was a bit bigger." Rafale turned to Apollo and beckoned him closer. "What do you think?"

Apollo walked closer and sat at the bedside next to Rafale, but he didn't know what to say. His only other experience with seeing another drake sexually aroused was with the freighters back on his home ranch, who had no shame, but he'd never gotten an up close look at anyone else's anatomy except his own. Certainly he had never seen a freighter with two penises. "You've...you've got two. Two! Is that normal?" he asked.

"I'd certainly like to think so," Typhoon said.

Rafale leaned over to Apollo and patted his half-erect penis in a playful manner. "Haha, you didn't even know that drakes can be biphallic? Now you do! It's more common in certain species than others, but it's just a different trait like having a neck frill or a tail fin. I think in rainbow swiftwings the chance is quite rare--one in ten, or something like that."

"Wow," was all Apollo could think to say. His shock had quickly been replaced by an indecent curiosity--what would it feel like not to have just one penis, but two? Was Typhoon twice as sensitive? Did he have to put both penises into a dragoness to mate with her? Did he pee twice as much? Wait no, that last question didn't make sense.

"You know, I've never actually mated with a twin-cocked rainbow swiftwing," Rafale admitted. "I've done it with a shorttailed stormrider once, but he was so much bigger than me that he barely even fit one in, let alone both. Unfortunately I don't suppose I'll be getting to try that today since you lost the race. Apollo's the only one who has the privilege of mating with me."

"Just keep rubbing salt into the wound, thanks! I already know I lost," grumbled Typhoon.

"Don't feel so bad! I'm sure next year you'll at least finish. I don't know if you'll win, but hopefully you'll at least finish the race without crashing and injuring yourself," said Rafale. "Maybe then you'll be able to persuade one of the other racers to lift their tail for you, and you'll get some use for your twins here. They're pretty good looking--at least they're symmetrical and almost the same size."

Typhoon didn't seem too enthused by this compliment. "You act as if you haven't seen them before."

Rafale clicked her tongue. "Tik. Seeing you erect while showering or sleeping is different from seeing you in a sexual situation. Well, not unless you count that time I walked in on you jerking off. That was quite something--you remember that?"

For the first time, Typhoon looked a tad embarrassed. He glanced awkwardly between Apollo and Rafale. "Hey, that was years ago! And you said you wouldn't tell anyone about it..."

Even though they weren't actually related, Rafale and Typhoon argued and bantered like siblings. Or at least, they argued like how Apollo had seen Jennifer and her older brother argue with each other, back on their ranch. Not that he had ever heard the humans discuss mating in such a frank manner.

"No, I never said that I wouldn't tell anyone about it," retorted Rafale, "I just said that I wouldn't tell Ian or Gripen about it. Besides, I didn't even tell Apollo the really embarrassing part, which was that you were using Gri--"

"Noooo!" exclaimed Typhoon, looking mortified. He glanced towards the room door, which was still closed and locked.

"Ahahaha!" Rafale burst into laughter, but she grinned at Apollo and didn't finish her sentence. "Anyway...that time he was only using one, not both of them, so technically I haven't seen him fully erect until now."

"That's because you're _not_supposed to use both of them at once!" explained Typhoon. He looked relieved to be changing the topic away from the time when he'd been caught in the act, even if it was to an equally lewd topic. "When I rub one, the other one gets softer. I don't usually rub both at once; that's just something they show in porn."

Rafale frowned. "Really? I didn't know that. But then what's the point of even having two if you only use one at a time?"

"I'm a racer, not a biologist. I don't know that much about penises," said Typhoon, but then he immediately contradicted himself by explaining what he knew. "As far as I've heard, it's just a leftover quirk from back when dragons had to compete heavily during mating season--fighting with each other for mates and all that. For a drake like Apollo who has only one cock, both his testicles sort of...share the plumbing; but for a drake like me, things are kept separate. Each testicle is connected to one cock. That means that when I mate with a dragoness only one of my cocks goes into her, and I would only use up half my sperm fertilizing her eggs. So then if another dragoness happens to come around I would use the other cock and still have a testicle full of sperm to fertilize her too. End result is twice the eggs. Or at least that's...that's what I've heard from other drakes, or read online. I'm not an expert. And nowadays people have sex for fun, not to make eggs."

"That is actually super interesting," said Apollo. He wondered what Jennifer would say when he told her about what Typhoon had just shared--would she find it fascinating, or did she already know this information since she was in charge of raising and taking care of freighter dragons? Come to think of it, he hadn't even told her yet about how fun it had been when he and Rafale had sex for the first time the other day. Jennifer had mentioned that she herself had had sex before (presumably with her boyfriend?) so Apollo wondered how come he had never been told about how nice it would feel. Humans seemed to find a few certain things embarrassing for reason he didn't yet understand.

While Apollo was contemplating life, Rafale was still asking questions to Typhoon. "Hmm. So do you, uh, alternate between sides each time you jerk off, or do you prefer one side?"

"Oh, so we're going back into discussing masturbatory habits now, are we?" replied Typhoon. "I usually do whatever feels comfortable, which is to alternate every time and only rub one side. That's just evolutionary biology for you. Besides--if both my cocks were erect at once while I was mounting someone, the one that wasn't penetrating would keep poking at my partner's haunches. Not that I've gotten the chance to try."

"Looks like both are pretty hard right now, though," commented Rafale.

Typhoon wasn't quite as hard as he had been while the other two dragons had been mounting each other, but he was still erect enough that both his shafts were protruding quite far out from his slit. "That's because I haven't touched myself yet. Touching one cock makes the other less erect, but until then, they're both, um, ready for action."

Rafale placed her fore paws on the bed. She placed one paw on Typhoon's underbelly--teasing close to, but not actually touching his erections. "And how come you haven't rubbed yourself off? Do you enjoyed being pent up?" she asked.

Typhoon glanced down and stared at his own shafts. "You know why!" He raised his forepaws slightly--the left one was locked in a splint, the right one was wrapped in bandages that only left the tips of his digits exposed. "Muscle sprain and a scale abrasion, respectively. I can't do anything until the doctors take off the bandages, which is a week away at least. Maybe even a fortnight."

"If you're desperate enough you'll find a way. You could use your tail or your mouth," Rafale suggested.

"I'm not that flexible!" Typhoon tried to bend his head down towards his crotch, but the bandages on his neck and chest got in his way, and even stretching his neck down he could only get his tongue wrapped around the very tip of his phallus. He gave one of his shafts a few licks and then stopped. "All I can do is tease myself and I end up miserable. Trust me, I've tried." Even that slight stimulation had made his left phallus grow more rigid, and now it was noticeably more erect than its twin.

"Oh, what a shame. Well now I'm going to the spa downstairs. See you later, loser!" chirped Rafale. She patted Typhoon on the underbelly and stood up.

"What? Come on, Rafale, you aren't just going to...to leave me like this, are you?" Typhoon slumped back down on the bed, making his horns bump against the headboard again. The maroon-scaled drake winced at the impact to his skull. "Ow."

"Aww, listen to the poor drake who isn't going to cum today. I guess your cock is just going to end up like your race result! DNF--did not finish!" Rafale turned to Apollo and winked at him. "What do you think? Do you think Typhoon deserves it? Should I help him out?"

Apollo gave a sympathetic shrug. In his opinion, Typhoon didn't seem as arrogant and annoying as Rafale had described previously. He seemed like a nice person, and he looked so completely miserable whenever Rafale reminded him of how he'd lost the race. Perhaps losing his first race in such a dramatic fashion had humbled Typhoon somewhat. "He isn't going to die if he doesn't get to release his seed. But then again, if it was me, I would want someone to help me. If you aren't going to help him then I wouldn't mind doing it."

Rafale raised an eye ridge and gave him an intrigued look. "Re-ally? I'd love to see you two have a go at mounting each other, but not today while he's still covered in bandages." She turned back to address Typhoon. "Today, since I'm feeling so charitable, I'll help you just this once."

"Seriously? You aren't just saying that, right?" asked Typhoon, his eyes lighting up in excitement. He evidently hadn't expected his request to be fulfilled.

"Yeah. I'll help you get a little release since you're so...pitiable. I imagine you'd return the favour if I asked, so why not?"

Rafale jumped onto the bed and sat beside Typhoon's tail. She grabbed his right-side erection with both her forepaws, which made the drake moan at the contact. "Oh! Oh...thank you..."

"Look at this thing. I just need to do like this, and that makes you soooo happy." Rafale started stroking him firmly up and down, spreading the drops of pre-ejaculate that had dripped out from the tip of his phallus.

Suddenly Rafale paused, which made Typhon frown. "No, don't stop. Please," he said.

"Relax. I just want to adjust my position." Rafale stood up and moved aside on the bed so she was sitting directly in front of the maroon-scaled drake instead of beside him. She straddled his tail and started using both her paws to pleasure him, one rubbing the top half of his phallus, the other rubbing the bottom half.

"Oh...oh, wow, that feels so good..." moaned Typhoon, his words slurred with pleasure. Apollo felt his own phallus get hard again in empathy, and he considered reaching down to try and imitate Rafale's strokes with his own equipment.

"It had better! I hope you are enjoying yourself because I'm not going to do this again," said Rafale. After a few seconds, she relented. "Alright, well maybe once more if you ask me very nicely. But you've got the next two weeks before you can do it by yourself, so you'd better think carefully about when you want me to help you."

"Yeeeah..." Typhoon's phallus was eagerly responding to the attention it was receiving. It had shot up to full length, and the drake's other phallus seemed to be drooping in response.

"Now let's try the other one." Rafale suddenly switched up her paws and rubbed Typhoon's left-side penis instead. Typhoon seemed surprised at the abrupt change in sensation, but his other penis quickly started to grow fully erect instead, and his right-side penis got a lot less rigid now that it was being ignored. "How weird. It's almost like you only have enough blood to make one shaft fully erect at a time. You weren't kidding when you said that touching one side automatically made the other go softer."

"Wow..." said Typhoon.

"Wow," agreed Apollo. Now he definitely felt a little bit jealous that he only had one penis, but mostly from a sense of curiosity. "But what happens if you do both at once?" he wondered.

"Good question. Let's find out," Rafale agreed. She adjusted her position and started using a forepaw to rub each of Typhoon's shafts.

"It's too intense...feels a bit too sensitive when you do that!" Typhoon replied, squirming uncomfortably as Rafale's rapid strokes forced both his phalli to swell and slowly grow to full length in unison.

"You say it's too intense, but you seem to be enjoying it." Rafale appeared to be having lots of fun toying with Typhoon, who was bucking his hips from the overstimulation of having both his penises touched at once. So instead she began alternating her strokes so that her left paw slid down his right-side (from his point of view) penis just as her right paw slid down his left-side penis, which made him twist from side to side to try and offset the intense sensory overload. "Careful about moving too much--don't want to reopen your wounds," Rafale warned, but she was grinning and clearly was deliberately trying to stimulate Typhoon just a bit harder than he would have preferred.

"Ah! It would be easier to keep still if...if you didn't... You're just doing that on purpose!" exclaimed Typhoon. By now there was pre-ejaculate readily leaking from the tips of both shafts, as well as the slit where they both originated, so Rafale switching things up again. She pushed his shafts together and began stroking them with both her paws, holding them side by side as if they were just one single, extra thick penis. "I don't think...urh...that's mmmf...ahahah...so intense...neeergh...slow down...please!" exclaimed Typhoon, his moans becoming almost whimpers at the stimulation.

But instead of slowing down, Rafale went back to hold one of his penises with each of her forepaws. Then she started rubbing them against each other, which made Typhoon snap his eyes closed and beat his wings against the bed. "Ok, ok, that's really...too much. You're rubbing both knots..." Apollo could clearly see that at the base of each of Typhoon's penises there was a raised bulge that was quickly swelling. The more the knots swelled the more they rubbed against each other, and Apollo could remember just how good it had felt when his own knot had gotten stimulation as he'd been mounting Rafale. "No seriously! So close... I'm going to..."

Then all of a sudden Rafale opened her paws and released Typhoon's genitals completely. She leaned backwards, balancing on her hindlegs and her tail. "Calm down now," she muttered.

"Hu...whoa..." panted Typhoon, his chest heaving and his penises still twitching up and down as his muscles contracted involuntarily. He hadn't yet ejaculated, but he was probably very close.

Rafale turned to Apollo and beckoned him onto the bed. "This is fun. Do you want to try?" she offered.

Apollo didn't know whether she was offering to rub his penis, or if she was offering to let him rub Typhoon's penises. Both seemed like intriguing prospects. "Sure." The aquamarine-scaled drake eagerly nodded his head and jumped onto the large bed.

Rafale shifted her position so that she was sitting beside Typhoon's hindleg instead of over his tail. Apollo sat down in the opposite position, with Typhoon's underbelly in between them both. Each of the two dragons grabbed one of Typhoon's penises.

"Is this your first time touching another drake?" Rafale asked. She quickly clarified the question before Apollo could give her an obvious but unhelpful answer. "Rephrase--is this your first time touching another drake's cock? Obviously you've touched drakes before in a non-sexual manner."

Apollo nodded his head. "Taking about sex and mating, I hadn't done anything with anyone before I mated with you the other day."

"That's alright. Just do exactly what I'm doing." Rafale gestured between Typhoon's twin penises. "Haha, he has two so we can each do one. Fun for everyone." She started sliding her paws up and down the Typhoon's left-side erection, and Apollo tried to do the same with his right side.

Holding another drake's penis for the first time was an...interesting experience. Even though he was also a drake and he had certainly touched his own reproductive equipment, Apollo hadn't quite realized how soft yet hard a penis felt. The exposed, blood-engorged flesh felt slightly warmer than the surrounding scales, and a thin line of pre-ejaculate had begun from the tip, allowing Apollo to smoothly slide his paws up and down. He was tempted to reach down one of his paws to stroke his own erection, or possibly even press his length against Typhoon's so he could do both at once, but for now Apollo focused on only touching Typhoon and not himself.

Typhoon was breathing heavily, and his hips were twitching and jerking as his two phalli were stimulated in two different directions. Every now and then Rafale would change her strokes so that she was rubbing him in a slightly different way, and Apollo would then try to follow her example. At first her paws just went up and down Typhoon's whole length, but then she moved lowered and focused her caresses on the knot, which made him gasp. And when Apollo did the same, Typhoon moaned aloud. "Oh! Right there..."

"Drake are always sensitive right at the knot. You touch them there hard and fast, and I have yet to find a drake who won't blow in less than a minute. But let's make him wait. Keep him on the edge till he begs." Rafale switched up her stroking again--grabbing the upper half with one paw and the lower half with her other, she made gentle light touches in alternating directions. "Tell me Typhoon, can you feel your orgasm coming?" she asked.

"Yes...yes...it's going to come soon..." moaned Typhoon.

"Good. I want you to come for me. I want you to come very hard."

"I--I will..."

"You don't have a choice!" Rafale grinned, and her expression was practically predatory. "I'm going to keep stroking and rubbing until you explode. It will feel absolutely amazing, and you'd better roar loudly for me."

"Roar?"

"Yes. I want you to scream so that everyone nearby can hear your pleasure. It had better be loud enough that they can hear you from the rooftop. Are you going to do that for me?"

At this point, Typhoon eyes were half-lidded. He would probably have agreed to just about anything Rafale asked of him. "Yes...yes I'll do it. I'm so close..."

"Good. When I make you cum, every last drop of seed that you've been saving up over these days is going to shoot out of that cock of yours. It will all spray out onto your chest and you are going to make a complete mess of yourself. You'd better try to keep still, else you'll pull on your bandages, but I don't know how you're going to manage it. Except...you know what?"

Rafale leaned forward, and spoke in a softer, yet more dominant voice. "As good as it's going to feel, it could have been better. I want you to remember that all your seed could have been going inside me, and if you think my paws feel good now, imagine how nice it would have been to be mounting me and feeling your cock inside me; slipping in and out of my slit, feeling so warm and wet. You could have been mating me right now...but you can't because you made that silly bet, and you lost it. So enjoy your consolation prize."

"I'm almost... Rafale!" exclaimed Typhoon.

The dragoness pretended to ignore him as she turned to Apollo. "Apollo, stop stroking that cock for now and help me out here. I'm gonna show you how to finish off a drake, _properly._Watch this..."

Apollo slowed down his motions until he was just holding Typhoon's left erection, but Rafale did the exact opposite to its opposing twin. Her paws were a frantic blur of motion dancing up and down his slick length, but she carefully avoided touching his knot at all. Typhoon made a pleasured noise that was half growl and half moan. "Grraw!" His legs jerked as he tried to thrust his hips upwards into Rafale's grip. As they watched, that slight bulge at the base of Typhoon's erection began to engorge with blood. It kept swelling until it was almost twice the diameter as usual, but Rafale left it completely deprived of stimulation for a few long seconds. "Pllleaase!" gasped Typhoon.

"That is a job well done. Now Apollo, use both your paws and grab his knot. Don't rub, just squeeze it as hard as you can," Rafale said.

Apollo did as she asked, and the moment his paws squeezed down on Typhoon's knot, the maroon-scaled drake snapped his eyes shut. His paws and tail clenched up, and then a few seconds later he let out a roar. "Rarrraaawr! Nngggraaaarrrrw!" Spurts of clear liquid seemed to explode out of his phallus, blasting against his chest in long streaks. Apollo could feel Typhoon's penis twitch under his paws with every contraction as his body released more and more and more of his seed. Rafale was still gently stroking the upper half of his length, drawing out his pleasure until finally the drake whimpered and collapsed flat on the bed. "Oh..."

"That was pretty good," Rafale said. "Your roar wasn't bad. It's a shame these walls are soundproofed."

"S...Soundproof? You didn't say that the walls were soundproof..." murmured Typhoon.

Rafale grinned, even though the whole thing had been her doing. "Of course they're soundproof. So you really just roared, thinking that anyone in nearby rooms or on the rooftop would hear your screams as you came? Damn, you're a dirty drake, aren't you?"

Typhoon didn't say anything, but Apollo was looking over the other drake's chest, which was now covered in seminal fluids. "Wow, this is all seed? So is that what I did when we were mating? Except that my seed was all going into you?"

"Exactly. This sticky stuff becomes an egg if it gets into a dragoness in heat." Rafale gave Typhoon's rapidly deflating erection a few more slow strokes, then she pointed to its twin, which was still half erect. "Are we going to do his other one?"

"Sure," Apollo agreed. Acting in unison, the two dragons grabbed Typhoon's other penis and began stroking.

"Hey wait--AAHHH!" exclaimed Typhoon. He tensed up and started squirming, but the stimulation was far too intense to resist. It took just half a minute before his body was ready to fire off whatever was left of his seed. Just as before, Apollo grabbed his knot and squeezed it down hard, which made Typhoon gasp. Being forced into a second orgasm so quickly was almost painfully overwhelming. This time his roar was completely involuntary. "RAAAWRRR!" Semen spattered onto Typhoon's chest again; this time the liquid was whiter and more viscous than before, but it still added to the mess.

"Hahaha. There we go. Two for the price of one," Rafale muttered. She kept stroking Typhoon until he was spent and squirming from oversensitivity before she finally released his phallus. "And that's that. Nice job Typhoon, nice job Apollo. Good work team!"

"Uhrgh...thanks. That was...intense," said Typhoon.

Apollo wiped his paws on the bedsheet, which made Rafale poke him with her tail. "Hey, don't get the sheets dirty," she said.

"Oh, sorry."

Rafale grinned and wiped her paws on Typhoon's outstretched wings instead. "Just use Typhoon instead. He needs to take a shower anyway."

"Oi! I'm not a towel!" Typhoon grumbled.

"No, but you are a mess. Go clean up before Gripen finishes her swim and comes back to see you like this."

"Good point." Typhoon carefully shifted to the edge of his bed before rolling onto the floor. He limped towards the bedroom door, carefully putting his weight on his half-extended wings instead of on his forelimbs.

"You look like a wyvern," Apollo commented. He also walked over to the door and helped Typhoon unlock it and push it open.

"Just for a couple of weeks! Then I'll be back on all four legs and ready to resume my training again," said Typhoon. He walked out into the main suite area and headed towards the washroom, nodding at Dartemis the bodyguard as he went. "Hey Darty. Nothing to see here..." Apollo only got a quick look into the washroom before Typhoon pulled the door shut with his tail, but from his brief glimpse he saw that the bathtub looked big enough to be a miniature swimming pool.

Dartemis raised an eye ridge but remained silent.

"You really are very quiet," Apollo said to her.

The black-scaled dragoness considered him for a moment, watching him with her large green eyes. "It's easier to listen this way," she finally replied after a few seconds.

"Well, that makes sense," Apollo admitted. He struggled to think of some other possible conversation topic. "So what species are you? I don't think I've ever seen another dragon quite like you."

"I'm a dusky inimical."

"Yes, and she is rare!" Rafale trotted out into the main room and flopped down on the huge dragon-sized sofa, spreading her wings open. "Darty's practically part of our family too--she's been one of Ian's bodyguards for years."

Dartemis nodded. "It's an honour to work for Mr Caedry."

"Ian's great," Rafale agreed. She gestured towards Apollo. "Hey, have I mentioned that Apollo's coming with us back to the hub?"

Suddenly the bathroom door swung open and Typhoon stuck his soap-covered head out. "What? Wait what? Did I hear that correctly? He's coming with us?" He turned to Apollo and addressed the blue-scaled drake directly. "You're coming with us?"

"I am?" Apollo was just as surprised as Typhoon was.

"If you want to. Didn't I mention something about this to you the other day? As part of the contract between your ranch and Caedry Aerospace Group, your owner, Jennifer, is going to be acting as liaison at our mega-hub. She'll be making sure your freighter dragons fly and deliver as expected."

"Ah, so I'd follow her there," said Apollo.

"I assumed so. Especially because Ian's got a house there with lots of flight training equipment--you can train with Typhoon! Race against him again, and then we'll see who the fastest flyer really is."

"Right. That's going to be...lots of fun..." muttered Typhoon, in a tone that was completely devoid of enthusiasm. He retracted his head and pushed the bathroom door shut again.

Rafale grinned at Dartemis, then Apollo. She reached over and picked up a remote control which she used to switch on the television. "Fun indeed! We're going to have so much fun. Welcome to the family, Apollo."

Apollo sat down on the sofa, next to Rafale, and he felt the dragoness lean against his side. It was nice to have to have friends.

END